UK rock three-piece Lois keep things authentic and engaging, with their electrifying fusion of nostalgia and anthemic songwriting, throughout the riff-strong high-energy album 67 Skies.
Indie Rock
Beginning with a Content Warning, the album sets out to explore the story of a girl who attempts to commit suicide, but winds up immersed in an Alice in Wonderland-style adventure – within which she’s forced to confront her mental health demons. It’s a dark topic, but broadly relatable, and the album is loaded with imagery and ideas that feel hopeful and optimistic in contrast with the desperation at its core.
Melodic to gritty indie rock with a mild essence of punk to the vocal stylings – Chris Thomas & The Merrymakers bring strong riffs and vocal unity to the forefront of the indie space, with FromTheTop 2.0.
Indie four-piece Gear keep things as simple and effective as their name implies, carving out a uniquely evocative, nostalgic but gritty realm as an authentic band, and building their sound around boldly poetic and powerful soundscapes and songs.
To counter the influx of intimate, mellow Christmas ballads this year, iconic indie punk outfit King Of Cups take a contrary stance as ever, introducing a high-octane Christmas rock song that’s both lyrically and musically at odds with the vast majority.
Letting the music guide, through a series of deeply personal reflections on adulthood and uncertainty about progression in life. Ziggy Lebon captures the enchanting mood of indie rock and shoegaze’s past, with the three-track EP FOOA (Fear Of Old Age).
Nineties-inspired indie guitar music, led by honest reflections and stories on daily life – Mexican creative Estrogeno blends the softness of singer-songwriter contemplation, with the raw energy of rock, for a series of original tracks.
Step into nostalgia and feel the embrace and uplift, as songwriter and artist Eamonn J delivers a beautifully poetic and heartfelt ode to organic indie expression.
Music to Bruno Marinho has forever been a therapeutic form of escapism. The focus and emotional resetting of the creative process is often what makes for the most engaging and interesting music, and that’s absolutely the case with the freedom and allure of Worlds Unseen.
There’s an intriguing vagueness to some of these lyrics, especially given the quiet mix, but always we’re gifted a satisfying hook resolve – a broader statement and light melody, to leave us with a strong sense of possibility and calm than anything else. Authenticity seems to be the driving force throughout the Come Along EP, and by employing that without concern, Scott Keesler has drifted down a road that’s entirely his own.
Somewhat akin to the likes of the indie rock emergence of two decades ago, the vocal lead for this Faithful Tragedy single feels mildly reminiscent of Pete Doherty, a kind of tired, dreary but evocative and delicate approach, with just enough grit to feel genuinely consumed by this sense of missing someone.
Reinventing the song that brought Miley Cyrus her very first Grammy, creative artist Svain completely reinvents the classic pop single Flowers, with this distorted and barely recognisable rock cover.